This invention relates generally to personalized wooden items, and more specifically to methods for fabricating personalized items, for example, wooden personalized items, such that the items appear to have been carved from a single piece of material.
Personalized items and personalized wooden items are known. However, such items are either carved out of a single piece of material at the time of manufacture of the item using large and costly machinery that cannot be provided efficiently at most points of sale or are typically fabricated in such a way that it is readily apparent that the personalization has been added after fabrication of the item. Further problems associated with most of the methods of personalization after the time of initial fabrication include that the personalization characters cannot readily be centered, spaced or retained in position. All of these problems are seen when some items are configured for personalization, for example, with a person's name, by inserting the letters of the name laterally into a channel and sealing one end of the channel to retain the letters. This solution also requires cutting a channel of some kind of shape that can retain the letters that reaches to the edge of the item, which is costly, and with some items and materials, impractical.
Another solution for personalizing items after the original manufacturing process involves snapping flexible characters, or characters with flexible lugs or hinges, into an opening. However, wooden characters are not flexible. Other non-flexible materials that might be used for personalization also cannot be snapped into place.
Another type of solution involves using rectangular holders that have extensions on the top and bottom. Various personalization characters are press fitted into the rectangular holders, which are in turn press fitted into an opening in the item to be personalized, for example a child's foam puzzle. The edges of the opening are shaped to receive the extensions on the holders. However, because the personalization characters are fitted into the rectangular holders and the tabs at the top and bottom of the holders are fully visible, it is clear that the personalization is not carved into a single block of material.
A need exists for an item that can be personalized simply and quickly so that it looks as if the personalization characters and symbols were carved into the item, when in fact, these characters and symbols were manufactured separately and added at a later time.